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Renewable Energy
Renewable energy (or green energy) is energy from renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind power, and hydropower. Bioenergy and geothermal power are also significant in some countries. Some also consider nuclear power a renewable power source, although this is controversial. Renewable energy installations can be large or small and are suited for both urban and rural areas. Renewable energy is often deployed together with further electrification. This has several benefits: electricity can move heat and vehicles efficiently and is clean at the point of consumption.[1][2] Variable renewable energy sources are those that have a fluctuating nature, such as wind power and solar power. In contrast, controllable renewable energy sources include dammed hydroelectricity, bioenergy, or geothermal power.
Renewable energy systems have rapidly become more efficient and cheaper over the past 30 years.[3] A large majority of worldwide newly installed electricity capacity is now renewable.[4] Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, have seen significant cost reductions over the past decade, making them more competitive with traditional fossil fuels.[5] In most countries, photovoltaic solar or onshore wind are the cheapest new-build electricity.[6] From 2011 to 2021, renewable energy grew from 20% to 28% of global electricity supply. Power from the sun and wind accounted for most of this increase, growing from a combined 2% to 10%. Use of fossil energy shrank from 68% to 62%.[7] In 2022, renewables accounted for 30% of global electricity generation and are projected to reach over 42% by 2028.[8][9] Many countries already have renewables contributing more than 20% of their total energy supply, with some generating over half or even all their electricity from renewable sources.[10][11]
The main motivation to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources is to slow and eventually stop climate change, which is widely agreed to be caused mostly by greenhouse gas emissions. In general, renewable energy sources cause much lower emissions than fossil fuels.[12] The International Energy Agency estimates that to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, 90% of global electricity generation will need to be produced from renewable sources.[13] Renewables also cause much less air pollution than fossil fuels, improving public health, and are less noisy.[12]
The deployment of renewable energy still faces obstacles, especially fossil fuel subsidies,[14] lobbying by incumbent power providers,[15] and local opposition to the use of land for renewable installations.[16][17] Like all mining, the extraction of minerals required for many renewable energy technologies also results in environmental damage.[18] In addition, although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not.
North Yorkshire is a ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber and North East regions of England. It borders County Durham to the north, the North Sea to the east, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the south-east, South Yorkshire to the south, West Yorkshire to the south-west, and Cumbria and Lancashire to the west. Northallerton is the county town.
The county is the largest in England by land area, at 8,654 km2 (3,480 sq mi), and had a population of 1,158,816 in 2021. The largest settlements are Middlesbrough (148,215) in the north-east and the city of York (141,685) in the south. Middlesbrough is part of the Teesside built-up area, which extends into County Durham and has a total population of 376,663 in 2011. The remainder of the county is rural, and the largest towns are Harrogate (75,515) and Scarborough (59,505). For local government purposes the county comprises four unitary authority areas — Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, Redcar and Cleveland, and York — and part of a fifth, Stockton-on-Tees. The local authorities of York and North Yorkshire are part of a combined authority of the same name, and the local authorities of the other three areas are part of the Tees Valley combined authority. The county was historically part of Yorkshire.
The centre of the county contains a wide plain, called the Vale of Mowbray in the north and Vale of York in the south. The North York Moors uplands lie to the east, and south of them the Vale of Pickering is separated from the main plain by the Howardian Hills. The west of the county contains the Yorkshire Dales, an extensive upland area which contains the source of the River Ouse/Ure and many of its tributaries, which together drain most of the county before reaching the Humber estuary in the south. The Dales also contain the county's highest point, Whernside, at 2,415 feet (736 m).
